Leona Hioki is the CEO, co-founder & architect of INTMAX: a ZK rollup layer 2 that focuses on private payments, scalability, and low fees. In this episode, we talk about scaling & privacy tech for Bitcoin & what we can learn from Ethereum.

Time stamps:

00:01:17 -Introducing Leona

00:02:47 - Leona Hioki's Background

00:03:38 - Discussion on Past Podcasts and Zcash Pump Dance

00:05:00 - Privacy Trends in Crypto

00:05:26 - INTMAX Overview: Privacy, Scalability, Trade-offs

00:05:44 - Client-Side Validation and ZKP in INTMAX

00:08:22 - Comparison to Zcash and RGB

00:08:46 - INTMAX on Ethereum and Potential Bitcoin Integration

00:11:02 - INTMAX vs. StarkWare

00:14:15 - Stateless vs. Stateful Systems

00:15:05 - Evolution from Plasma to INTMAX

00:18:56 - Similarities to Lightning Network

00:19:47 - Market Dynamics of Ethereum L2s

00:20:25 - ZK Rollups vs. Optimistic Rollups

00:24:45 - Fragmentation in Ethereum L2 Ecosystem

00:26:19 - Role of Money and Base Outage Concerns

00:28:03 - Trade-offs in Decentralization

00:29:34 - Differences Between Rollups and Sidechains

00:32:42 - Bitcoin Script Limitations and ZKP Verification

00:35:18 - Cultural Issues in Bitcoin Upgrades

00:36:56 - Miner Revenue and Drivechains

00:41:58 - Bitcoin in Japan and Satoshi's Name

00:43:24 - Speculation on Satoshi's Identity

00:44:48 - Early Bitcoin Community in Japan

00:45:28 - Post-2018 Regulations in Japan

00:48:37 - Moving to Switzerland for Privacy Projects

00:50:55 - Amir Taaki's Experiences

00:52:37 - Japanese Society and Libertarianism

00:56:30 - Cryptography History and Crypto Wars

01:00:22 - Podcast Milestone and Hardware Wallets

01:02:38 - Trezor Safe 5 and Quantum Resistance

01:05:58 - Quantum Computing and Privacy Risks

01:08:06 - UTXO Model and Bitcoin's Design

01:09:48 - Satoshi's Intentions and Op Codes

01:11:57 - Bitcoin as Money Network, Not Just Digital Gold

01:14:21 - Monolithic vs. Modular Blockchains

01:17:07 - Drivechains and BIP Proposals

01:20:58 - Stateless Clients for Drivechains

01:24:23 - Zcash's Potential and Comparisons to Monero

01:27:52 - Future Scenarios for Zcash

01:30:57 - Zcash vs. Monero Market Focus

01:33:39 - Client-Side Validation for Zcash

01:36:27 - Interactions with Zooko Wilcox

01:39:47 - Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake

01:46:16 - Fairness in Proof of Work

01:47:17 - Home Mining Devices

01:51:53 - Decentralizing Mining

01:53:05 - AML in INTMAX Privacy Mining

01:56:34 - Confidential Layers and Bridges

01:57:59 - Proof of Innocence in Privacy

02:00:04 - Replacing Centralized Exchanges with DEXs

02:00:48 - Uniswap and Decentralized Fiat Onramps

02:00:44 - Narrative on Zcash vs Monero Exchange Listings

02:01:04 - Zcash Listings on Major Exchanges

02:01:55 - Monero Listings and Volume

02:03:26 - Ranking of Exchanges

02:05:00 - Alternative Ways to Buy Monero

02:05:31 - Flashshift App for Swaps

02:06:34 - Zcash Support in Flashshift

02:07:15 - Zashi Wallet Features

02:08:00 - Planning Privacy Vampires Conference in Romania

02:09:58 - Vampires and Privacy Analogy

02:11:06 - Challenges of Privacy Conferences

02:12:22 - Interest in Visiting Romania and Japan

02:13:21 - Japan Recommendations and Metaplanet

02:14:15 - Japan vs Switzerland Bitcoin Culture

02:17:18 - Personal Story with Bitcoin

02:19:49 - Reactions to Bitcoin and Ethereum

02:22:27 - Bitcoin vs Ethereum Purposes

02:23:10 - Coin Distribution and Fairness

02:26:49 - Perfect System for Fairness

02:28:03 - Proof of Work Fairness

02:29:02 - Grin Fair Launch Example

02:31:07 - Premines and Dev Taxes

02:32:58 - Spreadsheet Coins and Competition

02:33:05 - Ethereum ICO Success

02:35:28 - Ethereum Competitors' Impact

02:36:50 - Zcash Dev Tax Benefits

02:38:20 - Issues with Scams in Premines

02:39:22 - Value of Experimentation

02:39:38 - Closing Remarks and Follows

02:40:55 - Thanks and Sponsors